THE ONLY WAY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 526, 1 December 1928, Page 12

THE ONLY WAY

CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING SUCCESS OF DANISH SYSTEM (From, Our Own Correspondent) HAMILTON, Friday. After a big tour of England and America Mr. C. J. Parlane, the new manager of the New Zealand Co-op. Dairy Co., Ltd., has returned full of enthusiasm as to the value of co-oxjer-ation. Mr. Parlane said his principal impression in discussing dairying with leading ■'commercial men and leaders in the dairying business was that cooperation was being regarded as the one and only means by which dairy farming could be made really profitable. This was heard on all sides, in America and on the Continent. Mr. Parlane found that in Denmark co-operation was really the national religion, and was not only employed at the manufacturing end of the business., but in the market end as well. The Danish dairy farmer had long recognised that it was not only necessary to co-operate in marketing, but that the price .must be fixed as well. The Danes naturally use discretion in the fixing of the price of their butter. They have to take into account the market position in Britain, and even on a favourable market use the necessary judgment in their price fixing, in order that the price will not seriously curtail’consumption. The Danes, it was found, co-operated in every conceivable phase of their business. One reason why they have been encouraged to do this was because all their cooperative undertakings had been established in a manner that any farmer co-operating could not possibly escape his obligations to his fellows. One of the most interesting recent developments in co-operation among farmers was the establishment of the Scottish Milk Association for the supply of milk to cities, / continued Mr. Parlane. It was giving the lie direct to the statement that the British farmer could not co-operate. Prior to the formation of this big co-operative organisation, comprising at present over 2.000 farmers, the milk dealers purchased their milk supplies direct from the farmers individually, with the result that with price-cutting tactics the price of milk was very unsatisfactory. But immediately the association was established and collective selling was adopted by the co-operating farmers much better prices were received. Although the association had been in operation at the time of Mr. Parlane’s visit for only eighteen months, it was distributing about 70.000 gallons of milk a day, mainly to the city of Glasgow, but on occasions actually railing the milk to London, a distance of 400 miles.